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Proposed condo in entertainment district leaves a bad taste on ‘restaurant row’

Neighbours worry about wind tunnelling and preservation of Victorian buildings in the face of a 47-storey tower proposed for King St. W.

Like so many of Toronto's iconic strips, the entertainment district's 'restaurant row' may be changing as the push for a new 47-storey condo makes strides on King Street West.
(CARLOS OSORIO / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

The area of King St. W. known as 'restaurant row' has become a hub of construction in recent years, with projects like the 46-storey Festival Tower. Restaurant owners fear the neighbourbood is being threatened by a new condo development. (CARLOS OSORIO / TORONTO STAR) | Order this photo

By Kaleigh RogersStaff Reporter

Mon., Aug. 6, 2012

A strip of Victorian buildings in the heart of the entertainment district dubbed “restaurant row” is facing off against a new era of architecture as a 47-storey condominium proposal moves forward.

Restaurateurs have a list of concerns about the prospect of a towering neighbour, including wind tunnel effects and preservation of older buildings. They fear that the very thing that attracts developers in the first place — the area’s culture and atmosphere — could be threatened without protective measures.

This proposal, which includes plans for three-bedroom family units, was what prompted Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday’s controversial statement last month that downtown was no place to raise kids.

It’s not the first development of its kind: the ribbon of high-end eateries along the south side of King St. W. has seen many highrises sprout up recently.

Squatting in the shadow of TIFF Bell Lightbox’s 46-storey Festival Tower and M5V, a shimmering stack of suites near Peter St., the Victorian-era buildings that house many restaurants are beginning to look out of place. Two more 40-plus-storey developments have already been approved at the end of the street, at 355 King St. W and 119 Blue Jays Way.

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Although the city first rejected the proposal at 323-333 King St. W., between Peter and Widmer Sts., in February, developer King Financial Holdings continued to push. After acquiring 321 King W. as well, the developer resubmitted the proposal and reached a settlement to get the proper zoning permissions after completing an extensive site-planning agreement.

The restaurant owners know that the further the process goes, the more difficult it will be to stop.

Many of the strip’s restaurant owners oppose the development, and not only on esthetic grounds. According to Al Carbone, owner of the Italian restaurant Kit Kat — about one block east of the proposed condo — they are also concerned about sunlight, wind tunnelling and affordable housing.

He pointed to the TIFF Bell Lightbox as an example. After its construction, he claims, the wind tunnel effect became so bad, plates of food blown off of patio tables.

“When they say they do wind studies, it doesn’t mean anything, because when the towers are there, the wind takes over. It’s Mother Nature, that’s the way it is,” he said.

Carbone said he’s also concerned about the new buildings blocking sunlight. Not only will the tower make the street cooler and darker, but it puts his own 75-year-old Ailanthus tree — a crowd-pleaser that sprouts through the back room of Kit Kat — at risk.

He has enlisted the help of the Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association to try to protect the area against developments that threaten the look, feel or function of the strip.

“That area there is such an iconic tourism destination,” said ORHMA president Tony Elenis, adding that the group is examining its options. “Everyone making decisions need to protect areas like that.”

According to Councillor Adam Vaughan (Ward 20, Trinity-Spadina), city planners are looking into wind effects and ways to prevent problems with falling balcony glass that have plagued other developments.

King Financial Holdings has also agreed to include affordable and family units in the building — all in an effort to strike that delicate balance between preserving the old and making way for the new, Vaughan said.

“The strength of this neighbourhood has always been the mix,” he said.

“It’s that heritage that has to be protected as much as the bricks and mortar.”

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